#used some old astronomy charts for the composition

[crowwowo]

Some day you'll know I was the one But tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun

I'll Follow The Sun by The Beatles

--

this was just my excuse to combine a bunch of references/poses I've been wanting to use, wanted to show more of fjorester traveling through the empire + their silly deities (fjord's... THREE)

[astrogeoguy]

The Full Thunder Moon gets Eclipsed, Evening Gas Giant-Gazing, and the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11 Arrives!

(Above: Features visible on a full moon are labelled on this image by Michael Watson of Toronto. The Apollo Mission landing sites are the red numerals. Apollo 11 was sent to study the dark, bluish basalts of Mare Tranquilitatis.)

Hello, Summer Stargazers!

Here are your Astronomy Skylights for the week of July 14th, 2019 by Chris Vaughan. Feel free to pass this along to your friends and send me your comments, questions, and suggested topics. I repost these emails with photos at http://astrogeoguy.tumblr.com/ where all the old editions are archived. You can also follow me on Twitter as @astrogeoguy! Unless otherwise noted, all times are Eastern Time. Please click this MailChimp link to subscribe to these emails. If you are a teacher or group leader interested joining me on a guided field trip to York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory or the David Dunlap Observatory, visit www.astrogeo.ca.

I can bring my Digital Starlab inflatable planetarium to your school or other daytime or evening event. Contact me, and we’ll tour the Universe together!

The Moon and Planets

This week, a big, bright moon will dominate evening skies all over the world – perfect for reminding us to celebrate humankind’s first steps upon it 50 years ago this Saturday, July 20 when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. Besides that, there are plenty of other celestial doings to look at. Here are the Skylights! 

When the bright, nearly full moon rises over the southeastern horizon at 8:30 pm local time on Monday evening, the medium-bright, yellowish planet Saturn will be positioned 2.5 finger widths to the left (celestial east) of it. The pair will cross the sky together during the night and will easily fit within the field of view of your binoculars. If you watch the pair over several hours, starting at dusk, you will see the moon’s orbit carry it closer to the planet and the rotation of the sky lift Saturn above the moon. Observers in eastern Melanesia, southern Polynesia, Easter Island, and central South America will see the moon cover (or occult) Saturn. 

The July full moon will happen at 5 pm EDT on Tuesday. Also known as the “Buck Moon”, “Thunder Moon”, or “Hay Moon”, this one always shines in or near the stars of Sagittarius (the Archer) or Capricornus (the Sea-Goat). When the moon approaches its full phase, all of the regions where the Apollo astronauts explored are illuminated by sunlight. Each of the six crewed Apollo Missions was sent to a different region of the moon in order to carry out experiments and to bring back rock samples that help us determine the age and composition of the moon’s surface. For safety reasons, Apollo 11 was sent to the flat and relatively featureless terrain of Mare Tranquillitatis “Sea of Tranquility”. Later missions landed in more rugged regions with complex geology. Visually, Mare Tranquilitatis is darker and bluer than the other mare – due to a higher Titanium content in the basalt rocks that created it. 

This full moon will also feature a partial lunar eclipse. The northern portion of the moon will pass through the southern edge of Earth’s umbral shadow and become darkened. At greatest eclipse, the moon will be in Sagittarius and positioned 7.5 finger widths east of Saturn. The entire eclipse will be visible from most of Africa, the Middle East, and western India. South America will see the later stages of the eclipse after moonrise, and Australia and Southeast Asia will see the eclipse set in progress. None of the eclipse will be visible from North America. Maximum eclipse occurs near Maputo, Mozambique at 21:30:46 UT. Remember that lunar eclipses are completely safe to watch without eye protection.

(Above: This is the arrangement of the sky that was seen by observers near Toronto at the moment Neil Armstrong was stepping on the moon - at 10:56:15 pm EDT.) 

After Tuesday, the moon will wane in phase and rise later – passing through the stars of Capricornus and then Aquarius (the Water-Bearer) on the coming weekend. Unfortunately, the moon will rise very late on the anniversary date. 

Mars is steadily fading from view as it slips downward towards the evening sun. Your best chance to see it will be low in the north-northwestern sky before about 9:30 pm local time. Thankfully, we’ve got the two big gas giant planets to view in evening this summer. 

The incredibly bright object gleaming in the southeastern evening sky is Jupiter! This week, Jupiter will be visible from dusk to about 3 am local time. Even a backyard telescope can show Jupiter’s two main equatorial stripes and the four Galilean moons named Io, Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede. They always appear in a rough line flanking the planet. If you see fewer than four, then some are either in front of Jupiter, or hidden behind it.

(Above: On Monday, July 15, the waxing gibbous moon will land near Saturn, as shown here for 10:30 pm EDT. Jupiter is off to the west.) 

From time to time, the small, round black shadows cast by the Galilean moons become visible in amateur telescopes as they cross (or transit) Jupiter’s disk. Europa’s shadow will be transiting Jupiter from 9:09 to 11:38 pm EDT on Tuesday with the Great Red Spot, and Io’s shadow will cross on Saturday, July 20 from 8:54 to 11:06 pm EDT. 

Due to Jupiter’s rapid 10-hour rotation period, the Great Red Spot (or GRS) is only observable from Earth every 2nd or 3rd night, and only during a predictable three-hour window. The GRS will be easiest to see using a medium-sized, or larger, aperture telescope on an evening of good seeing (steady air). If you’d like to see the Great Red Spot in your telescope, it will be crossing the planet on Tuesday evening from 8 to 11 pm EDT. More GRS viewing opportunities will occur from 9:45 pm to 12:30 am on Thursday night, and after dusk on Sunday. 

Yellow-tinted Saturn will remain visible all night long during August. Its position in the sky is just to the left (east) of the stars that form the teapot-shaped constellation of Sagittarius (the Archer). Saturn is quite a bit dimmer than Jupiter. To find it, look about 3 fist diameters to the lower left (east) of Jupiter. Dust off your telescope! Once the sky is dark, even a small telescope will show Saturn's rings and several of its brighter moons, especially Titan! Because Saturn’s axis of rotation is tipped about 27° from vertical (a bit more than Earth’s is), we can see the top surface of its rings, and its moons can appear above, below, or to either side of the planet. During this week, Titan will migrate counter-clockwise around Saturn, moving from Saturn’s upper left tonight (Sunday) to below the planet next Sunday. (Remember that your telescope will flip the view around.) 

For night owls, distant and dim, blue Neptune is in the southeastern pre-dawn sky, among the stars of Aquarius (the Water-Bearer). The planet will be rising shortly at about 11:30 pm local time this week. You’ll find the magnitude 7.9 planet sitting a thumb’s width to the left (east) of a medium-bright star named Phi (φ) Aquarii. 

Blue-green Uranus will be rising at about 1 am local time this week. It is sitting below the stars of Aries (the Ram) and is just a palm’s width above the head of Cetus (the Whale). At magnitude 5.8, Uranus is bright enough to see in binoculars. 

(Above: Venus will soon vanish into the pre-dawn twilight. for now you can still look for it low in the ENE, as shown here at 5:30 am local time.)

Similar to Mars, Venus is barely bright enough to see within the pre-dawn twilight sky that surrounds it, but it is sitting very low in the northeast - sinking ever-closer to the rising sun. Venus will be rising at about 5 am local time all week. 

Finally, Pluto reaches peak visibility today – but invisible to backyard telescopes. 

Some Moonlight-Friendly Sights

If you missed last week’s suggestions for objects to look for on moonlit nights, I posted the sky charts here. 

Public Astro-Themed Events

At 7:30 pm on Wednesday, July 17, the RASC Toronto Centre will hold their free monthly Recreational Astronomy Night Meeting at the Ontario Science Centre, and the public are welcome. Talks include The Sky This Month (presented by me), imaging planets while at southern locations, and solar science. These meetings are also streamed live on RASC-TC’s YouTube channel. Check here for details. Parking is free. 

Every Monday evening, York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory runs an online star party - broadcasting views from four telescopes/cameras, answering viewer questions, and taking requests! Details are here. On Wednesday nights they offer free public viewing through their rooftop telescopes. If it’s cloudy, the astronomers give tours and presentations. Details are here. 

On Tuesday, July 16 and Thursday, July 18, starting at 11 am, U of T’s AstroTour planetarium show will be a Kids Summer Break Show. Find tickets and details here. 

At 3:30 pm on Tuesday, July 16, the Agincourt Library will present a free public talk by Max King from the University of Toronto’s Astronomy & Astrophysics department entitled Mission to Pluto, From Napkin to New Horizon. Check here for details. 

On Tuesday, July 16, starting at 7 pm, U of T’s AstroTour planetarium show will be Our Musical Universe. Find tickets and details here. 

(Above: One of few photographs of Neil Armstrong on the moon, taken by Buzz Aldrin.)

The 50th Anniversary of humankind’s first steps upon another world is here! Here is a list of the places around town where you can join experts and fellow “lunatics” to honour Apollo 11 this Saturday night, July 20. 

On Tuesday, July 16, starting at 8 pm, York University’s Allan I. Carswell Observatory will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11 with a free film and star-gazing on the Arboretum roof! Details are here. 

Ontario Science Centre: Apollo 11 50th Anniversary on Saturday from 10 am to 10 pm features many moon and space activities and presentations, stargazing – and a Canadian astronaut! Regular admission and parking fees apply, except for the star party. Details are here. 

Aga Khan Museum: Moon Landing Festival on Saturday and Sunday from 12 pm to 10 pm features art, live music, talks, and stargazing. Free! Details are here. 

U of T’s Dunlap Institute: SpaceTime on Saturday from 6:30 to 8:30 pm features all-ages fun, talks, games, and giveaways. Free! Details are here. 

The next RASC Family Night at the David Dunlap Observatory will be on Saturday, July 20. There will be sky tours in the Skylab planetarium room, space crafts, a tour of the giant 74” telescope, and viewing through lawn telescopes (weather permitting). The doors will open at 8:30 pm for a 9 pm start. Attendance is by tickets only, available here. If you are a RASC Toronto Centre member and wish to help us at DDO in the future, please fill out the volunteer form here. And to join RASC Toronto Centre, visit this page.

Keep looking up, and enjoy the sky when you do. I love questions and requests - so, send me some!

[richmeganews]

The spring equinox is Wednesday: 7 things to know about the first day of spring

A brief, scientific guide to the first day of spring.

The vernal equinox is upon us: On Wednesday, March 20, both the Northern and Southern hemispheres will experience an equal amount of daylight. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it marks the beginning of spring, with daylight hours continuing to lengthen until the summer solstice in June. For those south of the equator, it’s the beginning of autumn.

Technically speaking, the equinox occurs when the sun is directly in line with the equator. This will happen at 5:58 pm Eastern time on Wednesday. (A few hours later, at 9:43 pm, you can look out for the “supermoon”, the last one until 2020.)

Below is a short scientific guide to the most equal night of the year.

1) Why do we have an equinox?

The equinox, the seasons, and the changing length of daylight hours throughout the year are all due to one fact: The Earth spins on a tilted axis.

The tilt — possibly caused by a massive object hitting Earth billions of years ago — means that for half the year, the North Pole is pointed toward the sun (as in the picture below). For the other half of the year, the South Pole gets more light. It’s what gives us seasons.

NASA

Here’s a time-lapse demonstration of the phenomenon shot over the course of a whole year from space. In the video, you can see how the line separating day from night swings back and forth from the poles during the year.

NASA/Meteosat/Robert Simmon

And here’s yet another cool way to visualize the seasons. In 2013, a resident of Alberta, Canada, took this pinhole camera photograph of the sun’s path throughout the year and shared it with the astronomy website EarthSky. You can see the dramatic change in the arc of the sun from December to June.

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This is a 6 month pinhole photo taken from solstice to solstice, in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. We are one of the sunniest cities in Canada, and this shows it nicely.

Posted by Ian Hennes on Saturday, December 21, 2013

(You can easily make a similar image at home. All you need is a can, photo paper, some tape, and a pin. Instructions here.)

2) How many hours of daylight will I get Wednesday?

Equinox literally means “equal night.” And during the equinox, most places on Earth will see approximately 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night.

But not every place will experience the exact same amount of daylight. For instance, on Wednesday, Fairbanks, Alaska, will see 12 hours and 15 minutes of daylight. Key West, Florida, will see 12 hours and six minutes. The differences are due to how the sunlight gets refracted (bent) as it enters Earth’s atmosphere at different latitudes.

That daylight is longer than 12 hours on the equinox is also due to how we commonly measure the length of a day: from the first hint of the sun peeking over the horizon in the morning to the very last glimpse of it before it falls below the horizon in the evening. Because the sun takes some time to rise and set, it adds some extra daylight minutes.

Check out TimeAndDate.com to see how many hours of sunlight you’ll get during the equinox.

3) Over the course of the entire year, does every spot on Earth get an equal number of daylight hours?

In the summer months, the northernmost latitudes get a lot of daylight. Above the Arctic Circle, during the summer, there’s 24 hours of daylight. In the winter, the Arctic Circle is plunged into constant darkness.

So does this mean the number of daylight hours — in total, over the course of the year — equal out to places where the seasonal difference is less extreme?

The answer to this question is somewhat surprising: Roughly speaking, everywhere on Earth sees a similar number of daylight hours every year. But the equator actually gets slightly fewer daylight hours than the poles.

As astronomer Tony Flanders explained for Sky & Telescope magazine, sunlight at the poles gets refracted more than sunlight at the equator. That refracting results in the visible disc of the sun being slightly stretched out (think of when the full moon is near the horizon and looks huge — it’s being refracted too). And the refracted, stretched-out sun takes slightly longer to rise and set. Flanders estimated that the equator spends around 50.5 percent of its year in sunlight, while the poles spend between 51.5 and 53 percent of their years in sunlight.

And, of course, this is how much sunlight these areas could potentially receive if the weather were always perfectly clear; it’s not how much sunlight they actually see, nor the strength of the sunlight that hits their ground. “Where are the places on Earth that receive the largest amount of solar radiation?” is a slightly different question, the answer to which can be seen on the chart below.

US Energy Information Administration

4) Can I really only balance an egg on its tip during on the equinox?

Perhaps you were told as a child that on the equinox, it’s easier to balance an egg vertically on a flat surface than on other days of the year.

The practice originated in China as a tradition on the first day of spring in the Chinese lunar calendar in early February. According to the South China Morning Post, “The theory goes that at this time of year the moon and earth are in exactly the right alignment, the celestial bodies generating the perfect balance of forces needed to make it possible.”

This is a myth. The amount of sunlight we get during the day has no power over the gravitational pull of the Earth or our abilities to balance things upon it. You can balance an egg on its end any day of the year (if you’re good at balancing things).

AFP/Getty Images

This man is very good at balancing eggs.

5) Is there an ancient monument that does something cool during the equinox?

During the winter and summer solstices, crowds flock to Stonehenge in the United Kingdom. During the solstices, the sun either rises or sets in line with the layout of the 5,000-year-old-monument. And while some visit Stonehenge for the spring equinox too, the real place to be is in Mexico.

That’s because on the equinox, the pyramid at Chichen Itza on the Yucatan Peninsula puts on a wondrous show. Built by the Mayans around 1,000 years ago, the pyramid is designed to cast a shadow on the equinox outlining the body of Kukulkan, a feathered snake god. A serpent-head statue is located at the bottom of the pyramid, and as the sun sets on the day of the equinox, the sunlight and shadow show the body of the serpent joining with the head.

This is easier to see in a video. Check it out below.

6) Are there equinoxes on other planets?

Yes! All the planets in the solar system rotate on a tilted axis and therefore have seasons. Some of these tilts are minor (like Mercury, which is tilted at 2.11 degrees). But others are more like the Earth (tilted at 23.5 degrees) or are even more extreme (Uranus is tilted 98 degrees!).

Below, see a beautiful composite image of Saturn on its equinox captured by the Cassini spacecraft (RIP) in 2009. The gas giant is tilted 27 degrees relative to the sun, and equinoxes on the planet are less frequent than on Earth. Saturn only sees an equinox about once every 15 years (because it takes Saturn 29 years to complete one orbit around the sun).

Cassini Imaging Team/NASA

During Saturn’s equinox, its rings become unusually dark. That’s because these rings are only around 30 feet thick. And when light hits them head on, there’s not much surface area to reflect.

7) I clicked this article accidentally and really just want a mind-blowing picture of the sun

Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA

The sun blew out a coronal mass ejection along with part of a solar filament over a three-hour period (February 24, 2015). Some of the strands fell back into the sun.

The image above was taken by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, a spacecraft launched in 2010 to better understand the sun.

This past summer, NASA launched the Parker Solar Probe, a spacecraft that will come within 4 million miles of the surface of the sun (much closer than any spacecraft has been before). The goal is to study the sun’s atmosphere, weather, and magnetism and figure out the mystery of why the sun’s corona (its atmosphere) is much hotter than its surface. Still, even several million miles away, the probe will have to withstand temperatures of 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit.

It’s essential to understand the sun: It’s nothing to mess with. Brad Plumer wrote for Vox about what happens when the sun erupts and sends space weather our way to wreak havoc on Earth.

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[wionews]

Total solar eclipse enthrals America

Sky-gazers stood transfixed across North America Monday as the Sun vanished behind the Moon in a rare total eclipse that swept the continent coast-to-coast for the first time in nearly a century.

Millions of die-hard eclipse chasers and amateur star watchers alike converged in cities along the path of totality, a 70-mile (113-kilometer) wide swath cutting through 14 US states, where the Moon briefly blocked out all light from the Sun. 

"It was incredibly beautiful. I am moved to tears," said Heather Riser, a 54-year-old librarian from Virginia, sitting on a blanket in Charleston's grassy Waterfront Park where thousands had gathered to watch.

Festivals, rooftop parties, weddings, camping trips and astronomy meet-ups were held nationwide for what was likely most heavily photographed and documented eclipse in modern times, thanks to the era of social media.

The blackest part of the shadow, known as totality because the Moon blocks all the Sun's light from the Earth, began over Lincoln Beach, Oregon at 1716 GMT.

Crowds whooped and cheered at the first sign of darkness.

A composite image of the total solar eclipse seen from the Lowell Observatory Solar Eclipse Experience August 21, 2017 in Madras, Oregon. (AFP)

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  People watch the solar eclipse at Saluki Stadium on the campus of Southern Illinois University on August 21, 2017 in Carbondale, Illinois. (AFP)

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  Solar eclipse watchers were ecstatic as the clouds broke minutes before totality during the total solar eclipse from one of the last vantage points where totality was visible. (AFP)

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Just inland, more than 100,000 people gathered at Madras, Oregon -- typically a town of 7,000 -- in what experts described as perfect viewing conditions.

"I've wanted to see one of these my whole life, since I've been studying astronomy, since I was a kid," said Christine Sapio, a science professor. "I thought I was prepared for it -- I totally wasn't."

"I was shaking, I was crying. I was just totally taken aback by just how beautiful it was."

In Los Angeles, "oohs and aahs" emanated from the crowd of thousands gathered at the Griffith Observatory in the hills above the city as the partial eclipse began. 

Many had hiked to avoid massive traffic jams. Some watchers had fashioned their own pinhole projectors out of cardboard and scotch tape. Others watched while wearing special, dark solar eclipse glasses.

'Just awesome' 

In downtown Charleston, South Carolina, the last point in the path of totality, crowds of tourists -- some in special eclipse T-shirts and star-printed trousers -- staked out prime spots on the bustling city's storied waterfront.

Forecasts of thunderstorms threatened to block the view, but the eclipse managed to peek through the wispy clouds.

Onlookers in Waterfront Park screamed and cheered as the sky went dark in the middle of the afternoon, streetlamps came on, and a rumble of thunder could be heard in the distance.  

"It was just awesome," said Dave Lichtenauer, age 63, a retired electrical engineer, describing the event as "partially spiritual."

"The crowd here was very into it," he added, remarking on the diversity and peacefulness of the masses. 

"You don't get many chances to experience that."

One bar had installed outdoor speakers blasting Bonnie Tyler's mega-hit "Total Eclipse of the Heart" -- which she performed live on a cruise ship sailing through the path of totality.

The unofficial anthem for the celestial show soared to the top of the iTunes charts, outdoing even record-smashing pop song "Despacito."

Cloudy weather and thunderstorms dashed viewers' hopes of seeing the eclipse in some places, including Missouri.

Some of the clearest views were along the West Coast.

'Don't look'

In the US capital, where 81 per cent totality occurred, Donald Trump watched the partial eclipse from the White House with his wife Melania and son Barron -- although the president appeared to have missed the memo on eclipse do's and don'ts.

At one point, Trump glanced skyward without protective eyewear -- a big no-no, according to experts. "Don't look," an aide shouted to him. He later donned glasses.

Eclipse watchers also flocked to Washington's National Air and Space Museum, where solar telescopes were set up for the occasion. 

In Mexico, where there was a partial eclipse, astronomy buffs set up telescopes fitted with special sun filters in parks and squares in various cities.

Eclipse watchers often describe being overcome by emotion as the sky goes black, birds return to their nests and the air chills.

"It is such an incredible, sensory-overload kind of event," eclipse-chaser Fred Espenak, a retired NASA astrophysicist, told AFP of the first total solar eclipse he saw in the United States back in 1970.

Scientists planned to study the eclipse to learn more about the super-hot corona, or outer atmosphere of the Sun.

"It is really exciting to see so many people interested in nature and science and this amazing phenomenon," said Kwayera Davis, an adjunct professor of astronomy at the College of Charleston.

'Sharing a cosmic event' 

After weeks of turmoil triggered by the race-fueled violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, some commentators welcomed the national feel-good moment afforded by the Great American Eclipse.

"The divided United States of America will unite today, sharing a cosmic event predicted by the methods and tools of science," tweeted the US astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson -- who earlier advised people to "put down your smartphone and experience this one emotionally, psychologically, physically."

The CEO of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, drew a more somber parallel between the day's spectacle and the country's challenges.

"Wish the moon wasn't the only thing casting a shadow across the country. We got through one, we'll get through the other," he tweeted.

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[astrogeoguy]

A Late Harvest Moon, Uranus looms Closer, and Venus and Mars Meet up!

(Above: Michael Watson of Toronto took this composite image hours after the September 2017 full moon. Already the shadows along the right limb show the waning process underway. His terrific Flickr gallery is at  https://www.flickr.com/photos/97587627@N06/36244824604/)

Stargazing News for this week (from October 1st, 2017) by Chris Vaughan. (Feel free to pass this along to friends and send me your comments, questions, and suggested topics.) I post these with photos at http://astrogeoguy.tumblr.com/ where the old editions are archived. You can also follow me on Twitter as @astrogeoguy! All times mentioned are in Eastern Standard Time. Please click this MailChimp link to subscribe to these emails. If you are a teacher or group leader interested in joining me in a guided field trip to the York University Observatory, visit www.astrogeo.ca. 

Happy October! It’s getting dark noticeably earlier nowadays, and winter favorites Taurus, Gemini, and Orion are rising in late evening. An annual meteor shower called the Orionids starts this week, so keep an eye out anywhere in the sky for “shooting stars” that are moving in a direction away from Orion. 

Public Events

An early heads-up - on Thursday evening, October 19, weather permitting, I’ll be hosting a free community star party in the Pomona Mills Meadow in Thornhill Village. Astronomers and guests are all welcome to join us, starting at 7:30 pm! Come see Saturn and other deep sky objects under a dark moonless sky. The cloud date is October 26. 

On Saturday evening, October 7, the Ontario Science Centre is hosting a free public star party to celebrate Saturn and the Cassini Mission. There will be telescope viewing of Saturn, the moon, and more (weather permitting), live music, and science demonstrations. Details are here. (Parking fees apply.) 

Other events this week include:

Archaeoastronomy: The Astronomy of Civilizations Past, a free public talk by U of T Professor Emeritus John Percy at the Pape/Danforth Library on Wednesday, October 4 at 6:30 pm (Details here).

On Wednesday, October 4 at 7 pm, Waterloo’s Perimeter Institute talk and live webcast of A new View on Gravity and the Dark Side of the Cosmos by Dr. Erik Verlinde of the University of Amsterdam (Details here).

The Universe’s Baby Picture: an Evening with Professor David Spergel, of Princeton, Thursday, October 5 at 7 pm at the Ismaili Centre on Wynford Drive (free with online registration, details here).

On Thursday, October 5 at 7 pm at the St. James Town Library, the free public presentation  Earth's Battered Moon presented by Sara Mazrouei of U ot T (details here).

On Thursday, October 5, 2017 at 8 pm the free public AstroTour presentation The Long Path towards Finding Habitable Exo-Worlds, downtown at U of T (details here). 

The Moon and Planets

The moon reaches its full phase, directly opposite the sun in the sky at 2:40 pm on Thursday, so it will already have a dark sliver on its right side when it rises about four hours later. The full moon of October, traditionally called the Hunter's Moon, Blood Moon, or Sanguine Moon, always shines in or near the stars of Cetus (the Whale) and Pisces (the Fishes). This month’s full moon is also the Harvest Moon, traditionally defined as the full moon closest to the September equinox. 

(Above: On October 8, shown here at 6 am EDT, the waning gibbous moon will approach and pass through the triangular stars of Taurus, occulting the bright star Aldebaran for Asia)

By next Sunday evening, the waning gibbous moon will reach the stars making the triangular face of Taurus (the Bull). Through Sunday night and into Monday morning, the moon will pass among them. Observers in central and northeastern Asia will get to see the moon pass in front of (or occult) the bright star Aldebaran, which represents one of the bull’s eyes, at about 19:00 UT. 

If you are out under a clear early evening sky this week, look for Jupiter very low in the west, a short distance south of where the Sun went down. The giant planet sets less than hour after the sun, at about 7:30 pm local time. Our views of Jupiter will be heavily distorted because we have to look through such a deep blanket of air when it is sitting so low. 

(Above: Jupiter at lower right sets soon after the sun this week, while Saturn lingers into the evening sky, shown at 7:30 pm local time.)

Saturn is the obvious yellowish object partway up the southern sky as the evening darkens. It sets in the west just about 10:20 pm local time. Once it’s dark, pull out your telescope and look for some of Saturn’s moons sprinkled around the ringed planet. Up to six or seven can be seen in amateur telescopes. The reflected sunlight from Saturn is taking about 85 minutes to reach us! 

(Above: The full Harvest moon on Thursday night, shown here at 8:30 pm local time, will hinder your searches for Uranus and Neptune, but they’ll still be there after the moon moves on.)

Blue-green Uranus is situated about halfway along the eastern (left-hand) string of stars that form Pisces (the Fishes). It’s low in the east at dusk and is observable for the rest of the night in binoculars under a dark sky. We’re approaching the days when the planet is closest and brightest for this year. To help guide you, there’s a medium-bright star about a finger’s width below Uranus. Tiny blue Neptune is also observable all night long, located in the southeastern evening sky about two finger widths to the lower left of the medium-bright star Hydor in Aquarius (the Water-Bearer). But it is too faint to be seen with unaided eyes. 

(Above: In the pre-dawn eastern sky of Thursday, October 5, bright Venus, which is swinging down and sunwards, will pass within 0.5 degrees of much dimmer Mars, shown here at 5:30 am local time. The two planets will  be near one another on the surrounding mornings.)

Extremely bright Venus rises in the eastern sky after 5 am local time. This week, the planet continues to descend slowly sunward below Leo (the Lion). In the eastern pre-dawn sky of Thursday, October 5, Venus will sit very close indeed to much dimmer Mars. At only 0.25 degrees separation, the two planets will fit within the view of a backyard telescope’s eyepiece. The two planets will be slightly farther apart on the surrounding mornings. Speaking of Mars, it rises in the east about 5:15 am, a short while after Venus. 

I’ll post sky charts for the visible planets here. 

Keep looking up to enjoy the sky! I love getting questions so, if you have any, send me a note.